No rest for earnings players

BarbaraC. Costanza

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) - There's no rest for earnings watchers this week, will a full lineup of A-team companies on the sidelines waiting to report.

Nearly half of the S&P 500 companies have reported earnings to date, while more than half of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies have reported.

Health Insurance/Pharmaceuticals

AFLAC Insurance's earnings for the fourth quarter are due out on Monday after the market closes.

Analysts expect the company
AFL, -0.85%
which is known for its quacking duck commercials, to earn 62 cents a share for the fourth quarter and $2.41 a share for the year, according to Multex and First Call.

Joanne A. Smith, analyst for UBS Warburg, rates the stock a "strong buy," noting a price target of $77 a share. Smith sees the company continuing to generate earnings per share growth of 15 to 20 percent due to its marketing alliance with Dai-ichi Mutual Life, its position in Japan as it moves into deregulation and its ability to maintain its product pricing advantages and its advertising campaign.

Shares were last trading up 31 cents to $62.75.

Cardinal Health, a healthcare supply procurement, manufacturing and distribution company, is expected to report second-quarter earnings Tuesday before the market opens. Nineteen analysts polled by First Call currently expect a profit of about 75 cents a share, along with 22 analysts polled by Multex. In the year-ago period, the company
CAH, +0.71%
earned 62 cents a share. According to First Call, analysts expect revenue of about $7.5 billion.

Jim Patricelli of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown believes the company will hit the estimate on Wall Street, noting fundamentals remain strong for the company's pharmaceutical distribution business. According to the analysts, the company has delivered strong revenue and income growth, while maintaining a solid balance sheet.

Shares were last trading down 69 cents to $99.31.

Wireless/Communications

According to First Call, voice and data communications companies AT&T
T, -1.02%
is expected to earn 26 cents a share for its fourth quarter, when it reports Monday. Analysts polled by Multex currently expect a profit of 27 cents a share, on average, with an estimated $17.1 billion in revenue.

In the third quarter, the company posted earnings of 38 cents a share, on sales of about $17 billion.

Shares were last trading down 56 cents to $23.38.

Medical Products

Guidant Corp.
GDT
a producer of pacemakers and other heart devices, is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday after the market closes.

The average of 24 analysts polled by Multex stands at 40 cents a share for the fourth quarter, in line with the estimate recorded by First Call of 28 analysts. Analysts expect revenue for the quarter to be about $659 million, in line with the company's projection.

In early January, the company warned investors that earnings would come in lower than expected as a result of lower revenue due to foreign currency effects and failure to produce enough of a new heart device. Prior to the warning, analysts were looking for a profit of about 43 cents a share.

Shares were last trading down 31 cents to $47.69.

Consumer staples

Household products company Procter & Gamble
PG, -0.08%
is set to report second-quarter earnings on Tuesday before the market opens.

Analysts polled by First Call currently expect a profit of 92 cents a share, up from the year-ago profit of 88 cents a share. The revenue estimate for the quarter stands at $11 billion, compared with the year-ago total of $10.6 billion.

In the first-quarter, the company earned $1.24 billion, or 88 cents a share, on sales of $9.97 billion.

Shares of the Dow Jones Industrial Average component were down 6 cents to $69.88.

Media

Many will have their eyes on the newly merge AOL Time Warner
AOL
which is set to report its first combined quarterly report Wednesday.

According to First Call, the consensus estimate on Wall Street for the second quarter is a profit of 15 cents a share, while analysts polled by Multex expect a profit of 14 cents a share, on average.

Paul W. Noglows, analyst for JP Morgan H&Q, believes the recently announced cut of 2000 jobs is a "proactive" move and that, while the advertising environment is soft, AOL Time Warner will fare better than most in the industry.

However, Noglows said the cutbacks weren't deep enough to hold up revenue growth in the calendar year of 2001.

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